Wrestling: Elmwood Park nabs school-record 20th win

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Updated: March 3, 2012 8:28AM

Elmwood Park’s wrestling team had one more regular-season goal in mind, and the Tigers accomplished it, outlasting Glenbard South 36-25 in the final dual meet of the campaign on Jan. 26.

The goal? To reach a school-record 20 wins for the season. It also marked the first time the Tigers have beaten Glenbard South. In the process, five Elmwood Park team members earned all-conference honors.

Ben Vazquez moved up from his usual 106-pound weight class to win by pin at 113 vs. a Glenbard South foe, raising his record to 31-1 overall. Senior Denny Ma (145) also won by pin, while senior Jim Accettura posted a win as well.

Senior Leo Bernal (220) needed triple overtime to earn a victory, while sophomore Brian Sama (182) and senior heavyweight Jeremy Wood each earned pins to aid the Tigers’ winning effort.

The four pins proved to be the difference in an evenly matched contest, as the host Raiders only managed to pin two Tigers. The one downer for Elmwood Park was that senior captain Mike DiFrisco (28-1) lost his first bout of the season.

“I told him that it might be a good thing,” said Elmwood Park head coach Lane Stone. “I’d rather have it happen now than in the playoffs. Besides, it’d keep him grounded. He told me afterward that he wrestled badly, and I told him, ‘No, you didn’t. The other guy just wrestled better tonight.’ After the loss, he shook hands with the opposing coach and went into the hallway. He’s the captain of the team and knows he can’t be a sore loser and pout. Everyone loses, even the best wrestlers. He accepted it and showed maturity leading the kids in the breakdown, and we got our 20th win. It’s the first time we’ve ever done it, and everyone was happy.”

DiFrisco, who suffered his first loss in a league match in three seasons, was named all-conferences. Joining him in the all-conference ranks were Vazquez, Ma, Accettura and Bernal.

With the regular season behind them, the Tigers begin postseason action at the St. Patrick Regional on Saturday. Elmwood Park’s toughest competition likely will be the host Shamrocks and Fenwick, and Stone thinks his squad has a good shot to win the regional and make it to the state team meet. His focus is on getting as many team members through to the next round.

“We’ve got to get the kids pumped for this new season,” Stone said. “The regular season is time to go through practice, and learn moves and do conditioning. Now it’s game time. We’re not going over any new moves. We have to keep them focused and get as many guys out of regionals and sectionals, and go Downstate. We need to keep everyone ready and focused for the next three weeks. We have a good tournament team — having taken first, second and third in tournaments this year. We have a group of tough kids, and we have a good chance to win the regional. If we are going to do it, this is the year.”